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AIJEXANDER H. HART, OF APPLETON, WISCONSIN, .ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF OF HISRIGHT TO LEWIS O. PATTERSON, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT m BEE-=HIVES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 128,619, dated July 2,1872.

To whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER H. HART, of Appleton, in the county ofOutagamie and State of Wisconsin, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Bee-Hives and Ido declare that the following is a trueand accurate description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawing and to the letters of reference marked thereon andbeing a part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a longitudinalvertical section of my hive. Fig. 2-is a cross-section of the same. Fig.3 is a perspective view of the same with the intermediate section readyto slip down over the lower or brood chamber for wintering. Fig. 4. is aperspective view of one of the long combination comb-frames. p

This invention consists in constructing the brood-chamber of the hivewith reversible sides for the purpose of making desired changes forsummer and winter, as will be described hereafter.

In the drawing,A represents the bottom or floor of the lower or broodchamber of the hive. A is the front end wall. A is the back end wall,and A are the side walls, which are paneled on one side with a layer oftarred roofing-felt between the panel and body to se cure..the greaterwarmth in winter; the end walls being doubled and lined in like manner.The end-walls are secured to the floor, while the side walls arereversible, being held in place by engaging with the head of awoodscrew, on, at the front end projecting from the a front wall, and bya wire clamp, 11. In winter the panels are on the inner side of thelower chamber. The front end wall is set back within the ends of theside walls to form a portico. In the bottom of the front wall there areone or more apertures, c, for the passage of the bees in and out of thebrood-chamber. In the back end there is an opening for ventilation,closed duringthewinteritis hung across the portico; a projecting stud ateach upper corner being provided to enter notches in the end walls,which allow the alightin g-board to be raised onefourth of an inch atthe bottom and crowded back the same distance at the topto form apassageway at the top and bottom to the interior of the portico. Nearthe bottom of the alightingboard there is a three-eighths' inch holefitted with a tin-tube, e, which can be used to trap robber bees and forthe exclusion of drones which have left the hive, in which case it is inthe position shown in Figs. 1 and 3; otherwise in summer it is under thefront edge of the hive. In the body of the hive I make use of eitherlong frames running lengthwise of the chamber, or shorter ones runningcrosswise, on which to support the combs; but, for procuring eggs forstarting nucleus hivesor for sup-' plyingboxes for queen-breeding, ashereinafter described, such a frame as is shown in Fig.

, 1, at D, provided with partition studs, in which are hung the smallframes E, may be used for the purpose; in all cases, the frames aresupported by the in-turned panels, on which their projecting ends rest.F F are two half honeyboards, each of which has three small openings, f,and a larger one, g, at the front end, which straddles the top of thefront wall, so that the bees may pass up into the boxes from the porticoor from the body of the hive. G is a rectangular frame, large enoughtoslip down on the body of the hive when the panels are turned inward.When turned out it rests upon the edges of the panels. H is the capboxof the hive, and is doweled to rest upon the frame G, or the latter maybe removed and the box rest on the panels of the brood-chamher. In theformer case the hive is virtually a three-story affair, as two tiers ofcomb-frames, or a tier of comb-frames and a pair of honeyboxes, may beplaced in the upper part of the hive, such boxes being shown at I I,Figs. 1 and 2, and in which boxes are suspended the nucleus-frames E.The lower front edge of the box H is cut away to make a passage-way forthe bees into said box, and also to receive the regulating-board B,which may serve as an alighting-board, or to close it entirely, asdesired. The frame G, when not used to form an intermediate story, maybe laid on top of the hive or stored where it will be protected from theweather. The boxes I, when used for queen-raising, are provided with oneor more transverse partitions, I, Fig. 1, which subdivide it into cells,in which are hung thenuoleusframes E. Access is had to these cellsthrough an aperture, h, at the side of the box for the middle cell, andthrough a similar opening at the ends for the end cells. Thesecell-openings are provided with grated covers, and the box is coveredwith glass to enable the bee-keeper to note the developments within.

In this manner 1 am enabled to raise from twenty-five to fifty queensper month in the two boxes.

To encourage or entice the bees to enter and work the upper part of thehive, a couple of filled comb-frames maybe hung across the portico,within the alighting-board 0, when in the position shown in Fig". 1,and, by means of the honey-boards and regulating devices, they may beconfined to any part of the hive or allowed access to all parts. In thisway, by proper manipulation, the bees may be made to work asindustriously during the flourishing part of the honey season as whenfirst put into the hive at the time of swarming, and they will continueto work at the same rate as long as they can gather advantageously,therebylarge- 1y increasing the yield to each swarm.

During the winter season the intermediate story frame and the cap-boxare let down over.

Witnesses: y

L. O. PATTERSON, A. H. OONKEY.

